Yugioh Posterity
by Poppytart
Summary: Long after the days of Yuusei and Jack, Domino City is now more of a wreck. Daily, a rich man goes poor, and a duelist loses cards as well as teeth. These are hard times, and about to become harder.
1. Chapter 1

Recently getting back into the groove of writing and inspired again to try my luck once more with Yugioh fanfics, my girlfriend and I put our heads together to come up with this new series. There's plenty more to come, hopefully daily, if not every other day. In any case, constructive criticism is always welcomed.

**Chapter 1 – An Almighty Dark Presence**

Life has become tough in the slums of Neo Domino City. People live in poverty, doing whatever they can to get by. Gang fights to control the sparse resources available, economic depression, the death of the game of Duel Monsters are only a few examples of what has happened to the once great city. A 19-year old man lifted his silver and black gloves, sweat dripping down his face, and swept to the side, dodging a blow aimed for his face. "You'll never win, Bruno! Throw as many punches as you could bear, you're not taking me out!"

His opponent towered over him, a tall bronzed man with a muscular build. He gritted his teeth aggressively, "This won't take long… you only beat me last time because of a cheap shot!" Bruno threw punches left and right, each one glazing Leo's skin as he continued to dance around the ring.

Leo flung his arm forward and smashed his glove against Bruno's left shoulder, knocking him off-guard. Recovering unnaturally fast, Bruno countered with a swift, cheap shot at his opponent's dominant arm.

Leo slid back and glanced at his arm. He rubbed his shoulder vigorously, lessening the pain and smirked. "And you're accusing _me_ of cheap shots…"

"Shut the hell up!" Bruno raged, charging straight for Leo. Thinking quickly, Leo bent his body to the side and skimmed his foot against the ring's floor, crashing into Bruno's legs. Bruno collapsed to the floor and glared up at Leo, his legs trembling from the blow. "What? You got a cheap shot; it's only fair to permit me to one too."

"You sonova-" Bruno looked back down at his gloves and a dirty thought crossed his mind. The referee held his hand up and pointed at Bruno with his other. "1, 2—" Bruno leaped up from the floor, nearly losing his balance again as his entire body shifted towards the boxer. "You'll die for that!"

As Leo braced for impact, he noticed that the straps on Bruno's gloves had been undone. Bruno laughed triumphantly as his glove flung off and his bare, boney fist smashed into Leo's cheek. The crowd that was previously cheering uncontrollably now began to gasp in shock.

"Heeelllppp!" A frightened teenage girl screamed, frantically running down the cold, dark street. Deprived of breath, she dropped to her knees and panted heavily, exhausted from running. She turned her head to scout the steps of her follower.

A large crash echoed through the abandoned streets. The girl turned and was greeted by a single lifeless, gray eye gazing at her from the distance. "Get away from me, you freak!" Her heart was pounding faster than she could think. She spotted an alleyway across from her, and without hesitation, darted into it; her pursuer wasn't far behind.

Leo cried out in pain as he recoiled back against the ropes of the ring. His cheek had turned a grotesque blue color, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Bruno sucked in the crowd's cheering, trotting around the ring as if this match was already won. Leo slowly wiped his chin, secretly undoing his own strap.

The girl ran into the alleyway, making it halfway before her shoe got caught on a crack in the cement, causing her to fall. The shadowy figure stepped into the alleyway, smashing his walking cane into the ground. The top of his cane folded out, revealing two hinges.

The man's lips curled into a demented smile, bowing to the girl in a mocking fashion. "Ah! I see you have found the **perfect** spot! Why don't we just get right down to dueling, finally? I think you made this more dramatic then it had to be." He pulled out his elegant dueldisk and locked it onto his cane as it expanded.

"Are you kidding me?! You chased me all the way here! Everywhere I turned, you were there!" The girl exclaimed, her voice cracking from fear. She continued to crawl back further into the alleyway until she hit a wall. Her eyes widened, she knew she was trapped.

"Now, now, let's not drag this out anymore… shall I go first, my lady?" His dueldisk shined an array of colors, activating its inner computer. "Oh, and the conditions…" Shadows crept over the walls and the duelists, the last glimmer of light fading on the girl's face.

Bruno stopped his gloating, focusing back onto the injured Leo. "Now let's get this over with. Shedding your blood was really pleasing!" Bruno sprung forward, extending his arm out at Leo's face. Right at the last minute, Leo slipped his own glove off. He pounced forward, colliding his own fist against Bruno's. As a cracking sound rung from the impact, a loud, blood-curdling scream boomed through the town.

Both fighters dropped their arms, extreme pain beating through them. With a final musk of strength, Leo punched Bruno directly into the face with his other hand. Unable to take anymore, Bruno collapsed to the floor and surrendered. "You win… I-I can't take anymore…"

Leo exited the ring, dropping his other glove onto the dirty ground below. "Garth, get the bandages and stay here. I'll be back."

"Where do you think _you're_ going?! Are you INSANE? Your hand is probably broken, hell, if you're lucky, you've only cracked a few fingers! We got to get you to a doctor, Leo." Garth demanded, pulling out the bandages from a nearby medical box.

"Did you not hear that scream? I'll be damned if I let someone get hurt in _my_ territory. And judging by the terror in that scream, something's wrong." Leo began to slowly wrap the bandages around his hand, wincing from the pain occasionally. "Hurt? _HURT?_ You _are _hurt, moron. I know you care for others, but you gotta' draw the line somewhere, buddy."

Leo shook his head and sealed the end of the bandage, biting the rest off. "I'll be fine, Garth. If it worries you that much, go call Senior Solomon and I'll meet you two back at home. He can treat me then. Now I'm going to go see if there's anything wrong, whether you like it or not." He buckled his vest back on and straightened it out.

Garth sighed, but couldn't help but smile slightly. "You idiot, you. Alright, I'll meet you back at home. But you better be ready, you know Solomon will have plenty of shots waiting for you," he said, turning to Leo.

Leo laughed and snatched his coat off the side of an empty chair. "I see no problem with that if he's got a nice dosage of morphine in one of them. Yeah, in fact, tell him to bring some, I'll need it." He slid his coat on and buttoned up.

"Sure thing. Just please don't get yourself hurt more. You never know what's out there anymore."

**  
Next Chapter****:  
The Girl, the Slums, and the Collector**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – The Girl, the Slums, and the Collector**

"Hello? _Hellloooooo?_" Leo called out with an echo, cautiously walking through the dim, drenched streets and alleyways. There was the occasional stray dog and cat, or silent bypasser, but no sign of anything else.

Halfway down Turbine Drive, Leo couldn't help but hunch over and wince from the pain that was shooting though his hand. He looked at the slowly dimming sky as he clutched his arm. The night was getting darker and colder by the minute; there was no time to waste. Leo turned and scouted the lots. Running into it, his eyes widened and panic set in. "W-what happened here?!"

Down in the corner of the short alleyway was a pale girl; she lay against the wall with her arms limp to her side, her eyes blank with fear as though petrified. Looking down, Leo noticed her wrecked dueldisk. It was literally ripped in half, and the wires were sparking onto the cracked cement. Her deck was missing, save for a few common and useless cards on the ground.

As Leo stepped back, the biggest and strangest clue left of the attack was an extremely large design, embedded into the cement of the ground and the bricks of the walls. Leo knelt down and warily extended his arm out toward the design. "Shit, that's hot!" He quickly pulled his arm back, his fingers burnt at the tips.

"Ugh. This will certainly be a challenge, considering you're unconscious, huh?" Leo rubbed his head and then sat down by the girl. "Well, here goes nothing." Leaning into her, he locked his arm around her waist and struggled to stand back up with her draped over his shoulder. At last managing to get to his feet, he situated his arm and slowly walked back home.

As he left the alleyway and walked down the street, a dark figure rose to his feet out of the shade of the night on top of the nearby building. His one, gleaming eye focused on Leo. "Soon... But for now, I bid this town… adieu." The man's cloak flew off his shoulder, flapping madly in the strong winds. But that did not matter; a shadow of a smile, and his hand holding the remains of a demon deck. His presence drifted away—even the full moon's light was unable to reveal him.

"So you say she was just lying there unconscious, near a giant emblem carved in the ground and walls? Peculiar." Senior Solomon said softly, pricking a needle into Leo's forearm, the liquid oozing out of the needle slowly. He put a bandage on the injection site and took out a pencil and piece of paper on a nearby desk. "Do you think you can draw this 'emblem' from memory—or at least its shape?" He faced Leo and his caterpillar-like eyebrow rose up.

"I'll try… but my good arm is the injured one, so it might not be spot on." Leo hesitated and took the pencil. Trying to perfect the design that his eyes had seen previously, he drew to the best of his abilities. Solomon snatched the paper from him, practically gluing his thick glasses onto the paper. "…First of all, you are a _dreadful_ artist. Better be glad you're a muscular heartthrob of a boxer, else you'd be good at nothing in life. Ehhem. Anywho, this looks similar to the design they were talking about last night on the news. One second, I think I recorded it like I do with the rest of this junk…"

Solomon slowly shuffled to the TV and fumbled around the side, pressing a small, green button under all the wires. An assortment of gears began to turn and electricity tunneled through the television box, turning it on. One could tell there was a picture on screen, but it was annoyingly fuzzy:

_"Witnesses say that a few weeks before, somewhere in-between 10 PM and 12 AM, a bright, almost blinding light scorched through downtown. As police arrived at the location of the light, a few unconscious teenagers were found laying in a row. They weren't injured, aside from a few cuts and burns, but the authorities say that that wasn't the __**strangest **__part of the story. One officer looked down from the top of a building and saw what looked to be, what was described as 'an ancient-looking carving', burned into the ground below._

_However, whatever this might be doesn't seem to be stopping. Over the last few days, these markings have been appearing all over and more often in both the upper city of Neo Domino and the slums. There have been no leads on who the perpetrator is, or what their motive is, but is presumed dangerous nonetheless. Regardless, authorities are now advising __**everyone**__ to stay inside, with doors and windows locked, after 9 PM._

_This is Glida Lucille, Domino News at 6. Back to you Stan."_

The door to the boxer's house flung open and boy no older than six barged in, his neon blue cap flying into Leo's face. The child's mouth puckered at the boringly calm man. "Leo, you promised to meet me down the street to help me in my duel against that bully from school _hours_ ago! And now I got my butt kicked because you didn't show. You better have a good excuse!"

"I'm sorry, Alec. I got caught up in something rather important. Solomon, will the girl be alright?" Leo picked up the young boy and set him in his lap, dropping the cap dangling from his hair back on the boy's head. The boy looked down and frowned at the doodle in front of him. "Whoever drew that seriously has issues. My 2-year old brother can draw better than that." The boy squinted at Leo suspiciously, "Besides, what's more important than me? A _girl_? I want answe-"

A pair of aged hands clamped the boy's mouth shut, putting him into a muffled fit. Despite the boy's protests, the doctor talked over the excited mumbling. "The girl should be okay. She didn't seem to have any injuries except for a few burns and bruises. Although the bruises were rather large and her heart rate was slightly higher than it should have been." Solomon released Alec and pulled the curtain back, revealing the girl comfortably on a bed. It seemed that she had awoken at some point and curled up before Solomon had gotten to her. She was hooked up to several monitoring devices by her wrist and shoulder.

"You said that there were cards left on the ground, just as her broken dueldisk was. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that she was involved in a duel… and lost by means of the PLM. It would make sense given the circumstances." He fiddled with one of the machines, double-checking her status to make sure it was calibrated.

Alec jumped off to the sleeping girl side, looking at her, and scowled. "What in the world is a 'PLM'?" The boy crossed his arms, staring at them. Leo sighed and took his dueldisk pointing to a tiny meter embedded into the side near the top orb.

"You see this, Alec? This is the PLM, or in other words, the Physical Limit Meter. Following the takeover and change of Industrial Illusions after Pegasus' death, cards grew scarce since they weren't being produced anymore. Auctioneers, collectors, and players of the game alike all started to resort to violence to gain cards and KaibaCorp eventually made duels even more realistic and brutal than before—as in attacks and effects were now able to harm physically. Due to this, law enforcements and healthcare both made a deal with the old producers of the dueldisks—that is, to create a new version, the DDVX2. This dueldisk was modified to have a special type of machine inside that reads and scans the body constantly during duels. If a player's body reaches its limit, to the point where it should no longer take the physical punishment in a duel, eventually ending in total harm or even death, then the PLM will call for an automatic forfeit. The player will lose, but at the fact that they are saved."

"Oh… I always wondered what that was. I always lose duels too fast, so I never really got to experience that first-hand, I guess." Alec grumbled as he snatched his dueldisk back, sitting on the floor and placing it beside him.

The clock in the room suddenly echoed through the room with a loud ringing, its hands settling on 9 PM. "Senior Solomon, will you please watch Alec and help him get home safely? We're going to take the authorities' advice. I don't want anyone young wandering around." Solomon nodded and walked Alec out.

Leo looked back, gazing at the girl on the bed blankly. All that circled through his head was that strange design and how it kept showing up… everywhere.

An elevator dinged, arriving at the roof of a storage warehouse. A beautiful woman, with curly brown hair and hazel eyes, stepped out and set the boxes she was holding down outside the elevator. "God I hate my boss. I'm getting pretty sick of him making me stay late just to move around these damn supply boxes. I don't even know what is _in_ those things."

She pulled out a cigarette, lighting it as she walked toward the edge of the roof. Glancing down, she noticed that a few of the streetlights were shutting off. "Is it really already that late? I gotta get home regardless if I'm done or not. A woman needs her beauty sleep, after all. The boss can get over it."

As she watched the streets below, the shadow that came from the boxes began to grow—nearly tripling in size. The woman lifted her head slowly, watching the shadow rise above her. She knew someone was behind her, and they weren't friendly. She panicked, refusing to see what was behind her.

Even so, the sound of equipment malfunctioning and the industrial elevator collapsing to the basement made her jump and she decided to risk it. _I need to get out of here, it isn't safe._ "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Why, I'm the Collector, m'love. And I'm here for only one thing… cards." His cloak floated with the breeze of the night. He banged his cane against the roof, scaring the woman again and he grinned as he dug it deeper and deeper.

The woman turned and put on a brave face, clenching her fist. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The Collector looked up and gave a piercing, one-eyed gaze. "You don't know what I'm talking about? Cards, dear, _cards!_" He yelled furiously, stomping towards the woman slowly, thrashing at the air in front of her with a malicious grin. She stepped back and looked behind to the towering fall below, nails digging into her palm. "Get away from me. Don't make me do it."

She took another step back, pressing herself against the edge's railing. The Collector laughed mockingly, looking over the side of the roof himself. "What are you going to do, jump off the building to the ground? Let's see how well that works out for you, shall we? A desperate idea, I'll give you that, but not entirely a smart one."

"Here, just take them then and go." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her deck, pushing it towards the masked man.

"Oh no, no, no… that would be _stealing_. That's rather insulting. I am a gentleman, I'll get the cards from you the way it should be. A duel, our cards being the wager. I win, I get your cards and I'll leave. You win, you keep your cards, gain mine and I still leave. Deal?" The Collector hooked his own dueldisk onto his high-tech cane, and threw a spare dueldisk to her afterwards. "Oh, and it's impolite to ask for someone's name if you don't give them yours in return."

The woman brushed her hair to the side and shook her head. She hooked the dueldisk onto her arm and activated it as she locked her deck into place. "It's Gwen. Now let's get this over with, I got places to be."

Both duelists drew 5 cards from their decks. They shouted, "Duel!" beginning the match. "I draw!" Gwen declared, drawing her sixth card, making the first move. "_I've already got what I need to win this._" She pulled one card from her hand and smacked it onto her dueldisk. "First things first, I summon Miniature Fiend (3/1500/1000)!" The boxes on the roof began to shake as a blood-red, horned devil emerged from the darkness in front of its master. It gave a bemused snort and stood in place, glaring down the masked man.

"But I'm not done! With its ability, I can send it and two cards from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon my Ultimate Obedient Fiend (10/3500/3000)!" The petit devil let out a howl as it was submerged in hell's flame. A scaly, red claw gripped onto the side of the warehouse and a monstrous being, nearly two times the size of the building, hunched over, its eyes glowing red and crimson steam poured out from its jaws. "I set three more cards face-down and that concludes my turn."

She smirked as her 3 cards materialized onto the field. "_I've got this duel in the bag already…It's almost impossible to be able to match strength against my monster, and even if he manages to get a monster strong enough to, my Mirror Force will blow his monsters sky high! The next turn I'll use my Skill Shed card to allow my monster to attack!"_ Confident with her plan, she watched the Collector gracefully draw from his deck.

"My turn then. I activate my Spell Card, Alternate Summoning Technique!" A card slid out of the Collector's hand and flipped over, enlarging onto the digital field. "By revealing one level 7 or higher monster in my hand, I can send the monsters it requires as Releases from my hand to summon it!" The Collector discarded 2 more monsters from his hand, slipping them into his Graveyard.

Two tentacles whipped out of the card and a grotesque, horrifying creature crawled out. Stitched together down the middle, two monsters were forced to live their life combined. "I summon my Twin-Monstrosity (8/3000/1200). Now I'll activate its first effect. By sending two cards off the top of my deck to the Graveyard, I can draw two cards!" His  
hand was now replenished with 2 new cards.

"Next I activate the Spell Card, Level Augmentation! With this card, I can double the  
level of any one the field, and I choose to double Twin-Monstrosity's level!" A hologram screen showing Twin-Monstrosity's new level, 16, appeared next to the Collector's monster. "Twin-Monstrosity, activate your effect—Split Surgery!"

Similar to that of a bad horror movie, the Collector's monster took its claws and ripped itself in two down the middle, blood splashing the ground. "What the hell are you doing?!" Gwen shrieked, horrified by the pools of blood. "_This is a duel, how could someone be this…brutal?_" The man caught her frightened face and smiled coyly, fanning with the cards in his hand mockingly before explaining.

"Well you see, m'lady, my monster has a second effect. I can Release it to summon two new monsters whose levels combined equal Twin-Monstrosity's level." The Collector instantly pulled out the two cards he planned to summon. A humanoid-like robot with an old-fashioned camera for a head, and a large armored eyeball with orbs floating around it; both rose from the remains of the mutilated monster. "I summon Copier Monchine (8/0/0) and Negative Negator (8/1000/500)!"

"Big deal. Those monsters couldn't possibly take on my Fiend." The girl scoffed; her monster let out a mocking grunt in support.

The Collector drew, and a crooked smile reached his lips. Holding the card idly in his hand, the man laugh mirthlessly and the smile became a demented grin. "Monsters? Ahaha…_Monsters?_ They're **gods**, girl!" he slapped the card onto the field, "Realm of the Almighty! Show true darkness and power!" Gwen gasped in surprise as the ground shifted and crumbled, the fires of hell carving a pattern into the floor as pure while flames simmered underneath and barely lit the dim, cracked walls that had surrounded him. Smoke rose from the corners and seeped around them, forming grotesque web-like pillars. The Collector smirked as the walls disappeared and peering eyes glinted at them.

"Wh-What is this..?" Gwen screamed as she felt the cool wall behind her try to suck her in, claws reaching for her legs and arms. She tugged out of their grasp and landed on the floor to her knees, shaking. "What the _hell_ is this?!"

The collector smirked and said nothing, placing a monster on the field. A fire flickered above them, feeble and held by a cage, suspended by two gnarled crooked hands. The flame burst into an inferno and ravaged the field. Gwen covered her face, hiding her eyes from the glaring light. When she moved her arms, the sight meeting her was just as unpleasant. A humanoid dragon stood before her, eyes ablaze and arms wielding two crude chipped blades. A spike cloak lay behind its shoulders, and the armor was scaled, almost broken-looking in the pale darkness. "Let the _real_ duel begin…"

**Next Chapter:  
Into the Lion's Den**

Card of the Chapter

Twin-Monstrosity  
Dark  
8  
[Fiend/Effect]  
This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard. When this card is successfully summoned, you can send the top 2 cards of your deck to the Graveyard to draw 2 cards from your deck. This card can attack once more after its normal attack. If you do, battle damage inflicted to your opponent's lifepoints is halved. During the turn that this card did not declare an attack, you can Release this face-up card to Special Summon 2 monsters whose total levels combined equal to this card's level.  
ATK/3000 DEF/1200  
**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Into the Lion's Den**

The Collector drew, and a crooked smile reached his lips. Holding the card idly in his hand, the man laugh mirthlessly and the smile became a demented grin. "Monsters? Ahaha…_Monsters?_ They're **gods**, girl!" he slapped the card onto the field, "Realm of the Almighty! Show true darkness and power!" Gwen gasped in surprise as the ground shifted and crumbled, the fires of hell carving a pattern into the floor as pure while flames simmered underneath and barely lit the dim, cracked walls that had surrounded him. Smoke rose from the corners and seeped around them, forming grotesque web-like pillars. The Collector smirked as the walls disappeared and peering eyes glinted at them.

"Wh-What is this..?" Gwen screamed as she felt the cool wall behind her try to suck her in, claws reaching for her legs and arms. She tugged out of their grasp and landed on the floor to her knees, shaking. "What the _hell_?!"

The collector smirked and said nothing, placing a monster on the field. A fire flickered above them, feeble and held by a cage, suspended by two gnarled crooked hands. The flame burst into an inferno and ravaged the field. Gwen covered her face, hiding her eyes from the glaring light. When she moved her arms, the sight meeting her was just as unpleasant. A humanoid dragon stood before her, eyes ablaze and arms wielding two crudely chipped blades. A spiked cloak lay behind its shoulders, and the armor was scaled, almost broken-looking in the pale darkness. "Let the _real_ duel begin…"

The creature roared and took its place next to the Collector's other monsters. "The hell is that thing?"

"Ryu-Kishin Ultima (9/3200/2400)… Allow me to elaborate. You see, we're currently located in a world where power is all that matters—Realm of the Almighty. My Field Spell prevents me from summoning regular monsters, but to make up for it, it allows me to Special Summon amazingly, shocking monsters each turn." Gwen glanced over at the Collector's dueldisk to see his field slot glowing the same color as the flames beneath them.

"Now, Copier Monchine, activate your effect!" The Collector's photographer monster turned to Ryu-Kishin Ultima and set its timer. The gargoyle snarled as a picture was taken. Suddenly appearing on the opposite side of the Collector's field was a colorless copy of the beast. "With Copier Monchine, I can make a copy of a strong monster on my field—a Replica Token (9/3200/2400)."

The Collector clenched his fist and dark wind circled Ryu-Kishin. Suddenly, the creature huddled over and its cape of thorns erected upward, needles pointing in every direction. Thousands shot from its back into the carbon-copy version of itself. The value meter appeared onto the virtual field next to the Replica Token, showing a significant increase in ATK for the monster. (Replica Token – 4200 ATK)

Gwen began to tremble as nervousness quaked through her body. Her gigantic devil was outmatched in attack power, and she only had one line of defense left. "_Thank god I drew Mirror Force; else I'd be in trouble right now._"

The Collector's pupil shrunk as he flung his arm forward and pointed at Gwen's monster, declaring battle. "Replica Token, destroy her monster! Dual Tail Scythe!" The monster leaped forward. In the midst of its attack, Gwen pressed a button on her dueldisk, activating her middle face-down card. "Mirror Force, activate!"

The Trap Card blasted out a rainbow glistening force against the Collector's assaulting monster and his monsters became sitting ducks in the prism light.

As the force neared the Replica Token, the large, floating eyeball flew in front of its accompanying monster. Its eyelid shot open and the orbs circled around its glowing, white pupil in a circular pattern, shining black. The mirror force crashed into the spheres, absorbed into the monster's big eye. "No! It can't be!"

The Collector cackled insanely as his Replica Token jumped onto Negative Negator's body and launched back towards the monster, landing on the giant devil's shoulders. The gargoyle clenched its chipped scythes tightly into its neck. It spun around, cutting the other side from behind and then crossed the blades over each other, completely decapitating the fiend.

Gwen's lifepoints decreased to 3300 as her monster's lifeless body was pulled into the eager darkness of the wall behind her.

"Negative Negator, attack her directly!" The orbs circled in front of the monster's pupil, shooting multiple beams one after another, similar to a revolving gun. Her lifepoints had been dropped even further to 2300 now. "With that… I end my turn."

Gwen wiped her forehead and nervously drew her next card. "Draw!" She pulled the card over to her face and opened her eyes slowly. Her frown quickly turned into a proud grin. "I activate my face-down Trap Card, Skill Shed! With this card, a monster on the field will lose all of its effects, and I choose Negative Negator!"

Negative Negator suddenly fell to the floor, its orbs broken into pieces as its eye spun dizzily. "Now that he can't protect your monsters anymore, I can do this—I activate Double Chance Death!"

A card appeared, sparkling, onto her side of the field. Its art showed the devil himself condemning a silhouette of a man to the underworld, refusing their second chance. "With this card, I can destroy one monster on the field whose Type, level, and Attribute is the same as another monster's on the field. And I choose to destroy Ryu-Kishin Ultima!"

The creature shrieked in pain as it crumbled to pieces. "But that's not all, next I can Special Summon a copy of a monster in my Graveyard—come forth, Ultimate Obedient Fiend (10/3500/3000)!" The familiar, monstrous hand reached out slowly from the wall behind Gwen, and her minion pulled itself back into the world of the living, biting the demonic hand in spite.

"But now I'll bring, to this duel, my most powerful monster… by halving my lifepoints and Releasing my Ultimate Obedient Fiend, I get to summon Demonservant of Hell (12/4500/4000)!" Upon her declaration, Gwen's monster was enchanted with a demonic power, too powerful even for hell to withhold. Horns sprouted from each side of the demon's head and its teeth grew jagged. Ancient inscriptions lit up all over the demon's body as it grew 2 more arms. "Attack Copier Monchine and finish the duel, Demon Demolition!"

The demon launched its gigantic fist forward, aiming to crush the Collector's puny robot. The robot diverted the attack by blinding Demonservant with its flash. The monster missed and hit Negative Negator, crushing it.

The Collector didn't even as much as blink as lifepoints dropped from the full 4000 to 500. "With my monster's effect, I can also destroy another monster on the field, and I'll destroy your damn Copier Monchine so you can't make anymore copies! Now that I got this duel in the bag, I end my turn."

The Collector's expression remained unchanging. The dim flame above flickered, shadows dancing around him as he slowly drew. "The end _is_ here…" The ground began to quake as a soldier made of pure stone created himself out of the flame's evil magic and the darkness. It carried hundreds of different axes on its back and carried a massive sharp axe in its hands, glinting maliciously.

"Meet Axe Crusher (9/2700/2200)…" The Collector's new monster exchanged glances with the colorless copy of Ryu-Kishin Ultima. "Axe Crusher, cut Gwen's monster down to size!" Suddenly four stone arms shot out of the ground beneath Demonservant. They restrained the monster by its arms and feet, so it was unable to move. Axe Crusher stomped leisurely towards the monster, holding its axe over its head.

It collapsed the axe down into the demon's head, cutting into its skull until the axe was embedded. The wounded area began to glow and the demon turned to stone, its attack dropping to half of what it originally was—2250. The axe cracked the demon in half and Gwen's lifepoints dropped to 1850. "Replica Token, finish this duel and attack directly!"

"Myrna! Get back here!" the well-dressed woman called out to red-haired teen, the exhaust of the D-Wheel uncaring to anything but the driver, and she sped off with a line of lights behind her. The woman sighed and clung to the step railing as she watched her daughter disappear.

"Johanna…" A firm hand lay on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "Why did you unlock her D-Wheel? I told you to stay _out_ of this."

Johanna gazed at the ground solemnly. "I thought she'd understand. I'm sorry Dorian."

The lights were calming at night, blazing alone yet brilliant against the sky. They streaked past her duel bike like ghosts as she sped across the downtown streets. _"I'm free."_ Myrna smiled and closed her eyes, snapping them open and taking a sharp turn to a main road. At the last second, someone darted across the narrow path, narrowly avoiding death with a kick from her heel, falling face first into the sidewalk. She grimaced, leaning back further into her seat. Another story of the _Silver Maiden_. Her, unfortunately; she was pretty well known in slums. Frequenting it often to let off steam, her one-wheeled bike was pretty much the first one to race in of its type. She guessed the 'Maiden' portion of the nickname was from one of the punks she beat in a duel for trying to jack her D-Wheel a while back.

She rounded another corner, pausing at an industrial shortcut that led to the bars and power stations of the area. She needed to get some more energy in her fuel cells or else she'd have to walk it there, which was last on her list. But the street was rather strange tonight. The machines weren't running and the lights were off. "Maybe they laid some people off. I can't blame them…" Myrna sighed and revved her engine back up to speed, maneuvering though the cracked walkway and onto the other side of the factory. Looking around warily, she spotted something familiar and smirked. A field card on the balcony, smoky black box and all. "A duel eh? I might as well watch while they give me the chance. I've been itching for a match." The woman leaned her bike onto the wall and climbed up a fire escape on the side of the building. With the feeling that the field card wouldn't leave anytime soon, she sat against the railing, savoring the cool breeze.

"No! Impossible! Get away from me!" Myrna jumped to her feet, alert to the scream. Watching the darkness on the balcony fade away, the white seal below the two duelists erupted in flames, shooting high into the sky and burying the horrified cries. _"What are they doing?"_ The ivory fire disappeared before her eyes, the losing duelist unconscious against the ground, smoke rolling off their burnt body. Walking casually to the body, the man bent down and weeded through their deck, not taking one, but all of their cards. Shaking, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Only cowards take more than one from a deck!" The gentleman smiled, unsheathing a blade from his cane and turning to her.

"And pray tell, m'lady, what are you going to do about it, _duel me_?" The carved marking crumbled behind him, taking the other woman with it. He smirked dementedly and jumped into the freshly made hole.

Panic mode set in, and she slid down the ladder to her D-Wheel, activating the engine and riding out the lot. She didn't have much fuel left, so by the time he'd even try, she could reach help. And he did come, on a white crotchrocket just large enough to hold him as he accelerated towards her. _"He's fast!" _She raced through the streets, tearing through corners, the man not far behind, his mask gleaming in the streetlight. Gritting her teeth, Myrna jerked her D-Wheel to the left, making a split-second u-turn and rode past him, kicking his rear wheel out of alignment. She hissed in pain; the speed of his bike had hit her foot good. _"This is my only chance then…"_ Pedal to the floor, she turned sharp into an open alleyway.

"So serious for only a _game_. Adieu." In the loosest term of defeat, the Collector smiled and faded into shadow, his one eye glaring through the darkness.

"Shit!" She miscalculated the street's width and skid across the road from the turn, wheel scraping across the pavement and sparks flying off as the engine sputtered. Her D-wheel slipped on a pipe on the ground and flipped to the other side into a wall, velocity banging the woman's head against the siding. Seeing stars, she slowly crawled out of the incapacitated D-Wheel, clutching her head. _"I might as well have stayed home, haven't I? Shi--I just know someone's gonna steal this thing…"_ Her arm was scraped raw from the pavement and her head pounding. "Jesus, I'm just gonna get a mechanic to do it." Rising to her feet and grabbing her purse, she walked down the dark street, hoping to find someone who knew their way around.

It had seemed like forever since she had left her bike. The roads were endless, and she swore that she had been down these places before. The lights were flickering as dawn approached, and she sped up her pace, ending up in alleys and cul-de-sacs. "Why is this place so complicated? I swear to god it isn't that hard to find a main road."

"Because you're on one." A cool tone interjected, making the young woman jump at the corner of the street. "And you've circled the same area for quite some time. What are you, drunk?"

Myrna gave the man a withering glare. He had orange spiked hair much like a lion, and a gear in his earlobe. He also had one arm in a sling, probably from a fight. She sighed. Great, the first person to find her was a _smartass_. "No, I'm just not from this area. Is that wrong?" Leo stepped towards her, eyeing her calmly as she leaned against the wall casually.

"You the Silver Maiden?" _"Damn. Not good."_

"What if I am?" her glare intensified, reaching in her pocket for her deck. If he wanted to duel, she could take him. The man smirked, only feet away.

"You look pretty beat up. Bother anyone here?" Her crimson hair covered her face as she lowered her head. Her headache was getting worse; she didn't have time for games.

"Can you just tell me where a mechanic is? I had an accident. I don't want anyone jacking my D--"

"Where is it?" She held her forehead gingerly, looking to the ground.

"I don't know. I didn't pay attention to the streets and got lost…" A cold breeze blew against her arm and she hissed, dropping it from her head to dangle useless from her shoulder.

"Hey Solomon, you still awake?" he kicked the wall behind them, setting off a shrieking alarm in the building. Several shouts and curses could be heard inside. And old man pushed the window open above them.

"I am now! What did you need this late, Leo?! Can't an old man get some slee--"

"Another one." Solomon glanced at him oddly, readjusting his glasses.

"There's no one there…" Leo's face fell, appearing to be in a dumbstruck stupor before blindly fishing his hand past the street corner until he heard a yelp. A couple tugs later she was yanking back weakly.

"Lemme go!"

"Got her. Now you think you can fix her up?" The old man slammed the window shut, the lights in the house flashing on one by one until he opened the door, his huge lenses reflecting the struggle on the street. The girl was trying to get away still it seemed, and Leo was failing miserably at bringing her in. Treatment wouldn't get anywhere if she kept moving like that. Sighing, Solomon reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniature syringe, holding it behind his back.

"Excuse me, Miss." Before she could turn to him, he pushed the needle into her arm, injecting the serum into her blood stream. Seconds later, she fell limp to the ground, dazed eyes slowly closing. "Leo, bring her in. I'll get ready." The young man looked at him, wide-eyed, bending down to pick up the woman.

"I didn't think you'd do _that_." Solomon grunted, shuffling back up the steps.

"She was the first that got my temper. I'd figure you to do that, but she got there before you." Leo gulped, placing her onto the couch.

"Mostly because I woke you up, right?" The doctor picked up a damp washcloth and some bandages, giving him a glare.

"Don't remind me. Now help me before she wakes up, I want my sleep."

"Mhmng…" Everything was heavy and warm, her eyes barely cracked open. She tried raising her head, but all it did was fall back onto the pillow. She didn't remember closing her eyes, but she did, falling back into peaceful slumber.

"Myrna Kramer…" She opened her eyes again, and nearly had a heart attack. Giant magnified eyes staring down at her, inches from her face. Sitting up to avoid smashing her head against the old man, she regretted it, clutching it in pain and swearing. Gathering composure, she glared at him, holding back a wince.

"Yes?" He turned his head to her, perplexed, showing her identification card.

"This yours?" She twitched slightly, taking the card back and placing it on her lap.

"If it looks like me, I'd think it is. Now why did you attack me last night? I was just fine until you did that."

"Actually, you got banged up pretty bad." The lion-haired man mumbled through a forkful of scrambled eggs, sitting on a nearby chair. "You got a concussion and the whole bit. The name's Leo, by the way. Figured you'd want to know it since you'll be staying here for a couple days." Feeling murderous wasn't half of it for Myrna at this point.

"Days? _No_. I will be going right _now_, and I dare you to stop me." She hissed. Leo only yawned, staring at her. The old man gave Leo a disappointed glare.

"Go ahead and try, you won't get far. Like Leo said, you're pretty hurt."

"I will!" Wasting no time, her foot gave out from underneath her, landing face first onto the carpet. Leo snorted behind his toast. Flushed from embarrassment and an aching head, she crawled back into the bed, rubbing her stinging ankle. "Fine. A couple days and that's all."

"What made you crash, anyway? From what I hear, you're a pretty decent rider." Myrna rubbed her forehead and spoke blandly.

"A duel. Not that I was involved, but I saw the guy stealing more than one card from an opponent and got pissed at 'im. Shortly after he chased me with his D-Wheel and I didn't react in time during a turn." Solomon's head shot up, wide-eyed. If he attacked Myrna just down the street, the Collector, as feared, was beginning to attack their town.

"What was the duel like?" Inquired Solomon, placing the food on the bed as the two watched her intently. She gave them a weird look and continued.

"It was mostly a black box because of the field spell, but when the duel was finished, the opponent screamed and a seal underneath them burst into flames--"

"A seal?" Myrna frowned, looking up at them as though violated. "_No_, an elephant. Why do you guys want to know suddenly? It was just round and curving into loops, that's all."

"Like this?" Leo shoved an indecipherable scribble in her face. Surprised by the lack of personal space, she slapped the paper onto the ground, squinting at it. It looked barely familiar, but it had the essentials somewhat.

"Minus the fact that it was drawn by a two-year old, yeah. Now tell me why the hell you want to know. I don't appreciate being in the dark when I got injured for it." They sighed, the old man walking back to the television.

"Do you watch the news…?"

After some thought, she considered herself lucky and boned at the same time. The good part was that she avoided a potentially fatal serial duelist, but the other fact still remained. She'd have to go home _sometime_, wherein was the problem. Going back was the equivalent of getting a second concussion, but that was the only place she could go. Last time she tried running away her father called the police. As punishment he let them leave a mark and she stayed behind bars a week. Luckily he had reached a monetary agreement with them and it was tucked away on her stomach instead of her face. What father didn't know was that she tattooed an extension on it so that it couldn't be immediately identified. Well, if they were idiots. Many police had Mark Radar on hand. But she really didn't do anything illegal, so there was no real worry.

The only other issue was--

"Eat. You haven't all day." Them. While she was plenty hungry, the fact that both of them were incompetent cooks, mostly Leo, had firmly cemented in a permanent law: _the food is poisoned_. And since they wouldn't let her in the kitchen, probably fearing the combination of her and kitchen knives, she was going to play their game well. She turned away from the concoction of charcoal and death, looking at the wall.

"No thanks." Leo groaned, dragging his hand down his face.

"Come onnnnnn…Solomon's gonna kill me if you don't eat something."

"That's your problem--Mpth!" Acting quickly, Leo shoved the eggs down her mouth, making her chew. She swallowed and coughed, seething.

"You ass! I need to _breathe_ on occasion!" The man wasn't amused, pointing to the plate he put on her lap.

"Eat it or I won't fix your duel bike. I mean it."

"Blehg. If I die I blame you." She sulked, slowly eating the overcooked eggs and toast. Leo smirked, patting her on the head mockingly.

He walked closer and pulled up a chair, sitting in it, leaning against the side of the bed, "Now… let's talk more about what you saw…"

**Next Chapter:  
Collector Attacks! A Roaring Duel!**

Card of the Chapter

Realm of the Almighty  
Field Spell Card  
If you control a level 7 or higher monster(s) on your side of the field, this card cannot be destroyed by card effects. While this card is face-up on the field, you cannot Normal Summon, Set, Special Summon or Flip-Summon level 4 or less monsters. When this card leaves the field, halve your lifepoints. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Special Summon 1 level 7 or higher monster from your hand, deck, Graveyard or Extra Deck, ignoring any and all summoning requirements. During a turn in which a monster is Special Summoned by this card effect, that monster cannot declare an attack. ****


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Collector Attacks! A Roaring Duel  
**

"_As it seems, another person was recorded missing earlier this morning. Jason Ludith, son of Merida Chip Corp. President Henry Ludith, has reported his fiancé, Myrna Kramer missing as of the day previous. She has bright red hair and a one-wheeled D-Wheel. Please report to the Authorities if you see this woman. Next in the news--" _

Tense silence filled the room and Leo looked a. She twitched and smashed the power button deep into the remote, killing it instantly. He cringed, sinking deeper in his chair; maybe if she didn't notice him he could avoid the brunt of her anger.

"So, you're married eh?" Solomon asked from the kitchen, back turned to the two while scrambling eggs. Leo buried his head in his hands, groaning. _"Way to go, Solomon." _A piercing glare shot at the older man, but he was oblivious.

"He is **dead**. I swear to god that if I see him again I'm going to punch his lights out…" The woman snarled, throwing the remote in a venomous rage. Solomon shook his head and quietly left the room with his breakfast, pointing to Myrna. Great, he wanted him to be the shining knight today. Leo sighed.

"Calm down, Myrna…he was just concerned--" Mryna rose to her feet, trembling with anger.

"_Concerned?_ That little shit has been trying to date me for **years**. He has no right to call me a fiancé! I don't want to be like my mother…" The woman paused, slumping back down into the couch and watching the carpet. Leo scratched his head, clueless. _"How the hell can she shift moods this fast? Besides, she's a commoner, why'd he want her? She's not that much of a looker."_

"But why the Silver Maiden?" Myrna sank lower into the cushion, holding her arms around her chest. She knew that was going to pop up, the oblivious fool.

"What about her?" She looked up to the young man. "She's just an alias; no one cares about that, do they? Do you know who I am? A _puppet_."

"A puppet..?" She smiled grimly, kicking her feet onto the couch as though telling a story.

"Yes, a puppet. I exist only to marry like a nicely taught woman, to a man that never loves me so my father can rot in wealth." Her voice cracked and she clenched her fists. "That _'fiancé'_ only thinks of me as a toy."

"What are you talking about, you're not royalty or anything, why would a man like that want you if you weren't?" Myrna sighed, slapping her forehead hopelessly. The only good thing about his naïveté was that it was distracting.

"You're an idiot. 'Myrna Kramer' is a member of the Toldert Game Company's family, where digital board games and devices are the top of their grade." The red headed woman parroted in distaste.

"So, the lock on your D-Wheel…?"

"A precaution so I don't lose sight of 'the future'. My mother unlocked it last time but I don't know the code." He was merely going to say that it looked expensive, but that certainly shut him up. _"A marriage-obsessed family would drive anyone mad",_ he supposed.

"I can try removing it if you want." Leo offered, stretching in his seat. It'd be a real pain in the afterburner, but if it made her less gloomy it was worth it. If she kept up like this, _he_ would end up depressed. Myrna's eyes closed and she turned to her side, the opposite of what he intended.

"If tampered with, the lock destroys the engine and controls. If I try messing with the pass code and come back, they'll scrap it. You can fix everything else though." She spoke softly. Leo stood up and gave the woman a reassuring pat, resting the hand on her shoulder.

"Well then, looks like I just have to work harder on it, right? I'll get it up and running by tonight, promise. Now get yourself together, you look like you're gonna cry there."

"Like hell I cry."

"That's the spirit." Leo left to the garage and she sighed, feeling where his hand once was. _"For an idiot, he's a rather sympathetic one."_

Back in the garage, Leo let out a barrage of curses, accentuated with a slap to the head. "Great, I had to go promise **that**, didn't I? I'm gonna be up all night with how this thing is…" The young man grunted, bending a pipe back in place on the disfigured D-Wheel. He was tempted to just buy new parts for the bike, but everything looked custom made.

As the night wore on, Leo's frustration grew. The whole system on this thing was _insane_. The engine was ancient by technology standards, and the wiring was completely out of date. Where the hell did she get this relic? Sure, it ran pretty good, but maintenance was another question… And as the final straw, he ran out of bolts. It seemed that the one single wheel alone had to be riveted in with its frame.

"_Well, the shops are closed this late, damnit. I wonder if Garth has any, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."_ Thought Leo, walking up to his trusty D-Wheel. _"Just a quick trip and I'll get this over with." _With a mighty roar from his engine, he shot out of the garage onto the road, taking a sharp left. His house wasn't far, it was mostly a matter of if the man was awake.

Suddenly, a barrage of red and blue flashed alive behind him, sirens sounding. "Move to the side, this is an emergency, punk!" screamed one of the riding officers, nearly running over Leo as he stopped on the sidewalk with a screech. As the trail of vehicles passed, the sheer number of them had him worried. Usually only two officers would come for a brawl. Could it be another attack? Without wasting another thought, the man sped off in their direction, finding them in an alleyway. Parking his D-Wheel away from sight, he ran to the scene, confirming his worst fear: the duelist had struck again. Behind the yellow tape, the seal burnt deep into the floor, the medics carrying away the burnt victim into the back of their van.

Interrupting him from his thoughts, a card bumped against the back of his head, carried from the cold night breeze. He turned around to find the source, and froze in shock. A figure in black glared down at him, his cape clung against him in the wind. "You--!" With a smirk the man tipped his hat and jumped off. "Get back here!" Leo sprinted for his bike, taking off as it came to life. Hearing his commotion, the officers called after him, unheard with the roar of his engine. The man long gone, the scene surveyor sighed.

"Hurry up and get the info, we have a potential suspect. Get me the list of marks, ASAP."

Leo raced down the streets, following the steady whining of his D-Wheel. He didn't understand how the man could get so far, but he knew where he was going. There was an abandoned lot buried deep in the streets of the slums, and often shady activities took place. Taking a shortcut, Leo waited for him there. A minute later, the small bike rolled to a stop at the entrance.

"Ah, you know the area well. Expecting me?" he chimed, parking it to the side. Leo smirked, his hand clutching his deck.

"Finally face-to-face… it'll be my pleasure being the first person to pummel you into the ground," Leo said confidently, activating his dueldisk. It spun around, the gears turning and locking into place, adjusting itself completely around the main body and fanning out.

The Collector held his middle finger up to his mask, securing it onto his face. "My, my, aren't we a feisty one? No matter. There have been quite a few ones like you before and they all went down with their words. And considering where we are now…" He glanced around, opening his arms as if inviting the darkness around them. The silence was haunting, "You'll be going down and you _won't_ be coming back up."

Leo cracked his knuckles and his dueldisk lit up. "The name's Leo. Bring it." The Collector waved his hand around in the air and nodded, tipping his hat.

"The Collector; I'll start then. Draw!" The Collector tossed his cloak to the side and held his cards up. "I'll start by summoning Unstable Daemon (7/2300/1800)!" The ground below the Collector lit up and a large, hunchback demon pulled itself up onto the field. Its body bubbled and lit up in multiple places as though radioactive.

The silence was pierced by a grotesque gargling sound coming from the creature's throat. "You see, Unstable Daemon gives me the option of summoning it without Releasing any monsters, but it has a dreadful catch. If I don't find someway to get rid of it soon, it'll explode and damage my lifepoints. But that won't be a problem." He gracefully pulled out another card from his hand and tapped it onto his dueldisk.

A Spell Card lit up onto his field. Its art showed a monster being buried alive, another monster created from its sacrifice. "Burial Sacrifice—with this card, I'll be able to give birth to a new monster soon enough. I'll Set one card and end my turn."

Leo smiled and drew his sixth card. The wind spun around him and, without even looking, he summoned the monster. "I summon Rusty Coach (3/900/650)!"

The sound of an annoying squeak graced the field, as an Italian-looking robot limped forward. The robot was made with various bolts, parts, and gears. He was broad, a towel hung on his shoulder and a punching bag, hooked into from the back, draped in front of him.

"I activate Rusty Coach's effect. I get to Special Summon yet another monster, and I choose to summon Buddy Gear (2/700/300)!" Another robot appeared to the field. A big number 2 was welded to its chest. But it seemed to be missing a key component; its back lacked some parts as its wires dangled and sockets sat empty.

The Collector's laugh echoed through the lot, and he leaned against his dueldisk cane in mirth. "You do know my deck focuses purely on power, right? Those monsters of yours couldn't even put a scratch on mine."

"Yeah, well, my deck focuses on balance and overcoming minor problems—such as _that._ Now, I activate Rusty Coach's second effect!" Leo's two monsters took a few seconds to spar. When finished, Buddy Gear's mechanics were running at double capacity. His attack boosted by 500 points. "Direct attack!"

Buddy Gear cocked its arm back and then launched it forward. The springs in its arm extended more and more, spiraling the robot's fist past the Collector's monster and right into his gut. "Oof!" The collector grunted, recoiling back and clenching his stomach. "W-what just happened…?" His lifepoints reduced to 2800 and Leo smirked.

"Taking you down, that's what. But if you mean that attack, I'll explain. As I said before, my deck focuses on balance. While my monsters are weak, their abilities, such as attacking directly or negating their destruction, make up for that. I set a card too and that ends my turn." Leo's card appeared on the field, set face-down. The duel was shifted to Collector's favor.

"My turn!" He drew his next card and was ready to win. Burial Sacrifice began to glow purple, a skull burned into the front of the card. "I Release Unstable Daemon and use one of Burial Sacrifice's Counters as the second Release to summon. Twin-Monstrosity (8/3000/1200)!" The conjoined monsters squirmed around, howling and hissing, as blood dripped from their stitches. "Attack with Tentacle Incision!"

Collector's terrifying monster shook, medical tools surgically implanted into each tentacle. It thrust its tentacles forward with increasing speed, twisting and swiping at Buddy Gear. "Reveal Trap Card, Revving Offense!" Suddenly the creature's tentacles shrunk away as if in pain. "With this card, I can negate your attack and then double the attack of one of my monsters until the end of my next turn."

Rusty Coach's engine was upgraded, its power doubling to 1800. The Collector's surprised expression quickly faded and he pointed towards Leo's monster. "Tentacle Incision!" The Collector's creature still had another attack left that he had neglected to mention. But Leo wasn't about to let him get the upper-hand.

"Buddy Gear, activate your ability!" His rustbucket of a monster turned to the side and reached towards Leo's cards. Another mechanical hand reached out of a card in Leo's hand. "With its effect, I can Special Summon another monster, as long as I reduce its attack by a certain amount equal to that monster's level."

Hooking itself into the back of Buddy Gear, another pumped robot appeared. It fit perfectly into Buddy Gear's sockets, the wires combining. This robot's arms were gigantic; reinforced with one of the hardest metals in the world. Its inner-workings all linked to the shining, blue orb in the middle of its chest. Two conductors stuck out of its chest and one from its face. "I summon Battle Conductor (3/1500/900)!"

Buddy Gear's attack reduced to 900. "Although my monster's attack is reduced, it's a small price to pay. Now that I have Battle Conductor on the field, you must attack it instead!" The linked robots spun around, so that Battle Conductor was now facing the field.

Battle Conductor clenched one of the flailing tentacles and started to pull the Collector's monster over. The monster struggled, but was no match for the machine's strength. The robot grabbed both sides of the monster and brutally pulled it apart. "But **how**?"

Leo pointed at the hologram sitting next to Battle Conductor. It read: '4200'. Just then, the Collector's lifepoints dropped to 1600. "You're getting to be a real nuisance, Leo." The well dressed man spat, "Reveal Continuous Trap Card, Afterlife Incarnation! By removing a number of monsters in my Graveyard from play, I can Special Summon a monster from my hand that requires that many Releases."

Two souls flew out of the Collector's Graveyard and circled around his cards. He pulled a card from his hand and let the spirits play it for him. "I summon my Shell Fiend (8/2500/2300)." A large, coned, ebony shell drilled up onto the field and stayed completely still, pitch black. "Turn end."

Leo's muscular monster malfunctioned, its engine dying. The monster exploded, leaving the field. "By all the stories, I thought you'd be a little tougher than this, but I suppose the news _always _exaggerates. I draw!" Leo shrugged, swiping the card off the top of his deck.

"I don't even need to do much. With my set of cards on the field, Battle Conductor will continuously come back with massive amounts of attack power. So first I'll boost Buddy Gear's attack again with Rusty Coach's effect." Again, Rusty Coach muscled up his rookie, its attack boosting to 1400 now. Leo set another card face-down and concluded his turn.

"Let's wrap this duel up, shall we?" The Collector asked coyly, starting his turn with a flourish. "First I'll activate my Spell Card, Trade-In. With this card, I can discard one level eight monster from my hand to draw two cards." He dropped one card in his hand into the Graveyard and drew 2 more.

"Now I Special Summon Cult Worshipper (5/2000/1300)." Amidst chanting a hooded man walked onto the field, humming an eerie tune as he swung a demonic lantern from side-to-side. He vowed his life to worshipping the gods above at all costs. "Now I activate the instrument of your destruction, Chain Target! With this card, my monster can keep attacking until it destroys the target I select, and I select Rusty Coach. Now Shell Fiend, attack Buddy Gear with Coral Shrapnel!"

The large shell shook, three claws slowly reached out of the darkness inside and opened wide to reveal crusty cannons embedded inside. Sharpened shells began to blast out, all heading for Leo's monster. Again, Buddy Gear's effect activated, creating Battle Conductor again; its ATK reducing back to 1100. Battle Conductor's ATK jumped to 3500.

The shells proved unable to break the robot's metallic body, but something wasn't right. The Collector's monster remained on the field and his lifepoints only reduced to 1100. Battle Conductor spontaneously blew up, but it wasn't the time for it to leave the field.

"What going on?" Leo exclaimed, surprised by his monster's destruction. The Collector smiled coyly, explaining to Leo in a mocking tone.

"Shell Fiend is a mean monster. Not only can it not be destroyed by almost _anything_, but when it battles a monster, that monster is destroyed regardless if it's stronger. And while Cult Worshipper is on the field, all battle damage inflicted to my lifepoints with a high leveled monster is halved! Now attack again!"

Shell Fiend targeted Buddy Gear again, blasting its ammo. Repeating the process, its ATK reduced to 800 as Battle Conductor summoned to the field and redirected the attack. Battle Conductor was destroyed once more while the Collector's lifepoints reduced to 800.

The process repeated again, Leo's monster weakening to a puny 500 ATK as the Collector's lifepoints only to 650. It continued until Buddy Gear finally couldn't process its effect anymore and was destroyed alongside Battle Conductor. The Collector's lifepoints remained at 600.

"Finally, destroy Rusty Coach!" The final attack left the rusted robot resembling Swiss cheese more than anything. Leo's lifepoints decreased to 2400. "Now I attack you directly with Cult Worshipper!" The hooded man spoke in tongues, a demon fading to the Leo's side. He gasped as he felt a hand stab straight through his stomach.

His lifepoints were bumped down to a measly 400 in that instant.

"Reveal Trap Card, Engine Tune!" Leo's last card revealed itself, sparkling with a ray of hope for him. "This card can only be activated when you attack me directly. After the attack, I can Special Summon one Tuner monster, and I summon Balanced Fighter (3/500/500)!" A petit robot flipped onto the field and held its hands up as if picking a fight.

"This is my last hope…" Leo muttered, staring down at his tiny monster, and the only chance for victory.

"_What?!_" Myrna shot up in her bed, wide-eyed. "He's gone?" Solomon nodded, readjusting his glasses and staring at the door.

"I figured he was working on that bike of yours, and when I looked in the garage, he wasn't there. The news also mentioned another attack." the old man mumbled. She twitched, a semblance of rage in her crooked smile.

"Is he always this stupid?"

"Actually, this is a new low for him." Solomon stated, plopping back into a chair. "Let's just hope he's alright." Myrna sighed and sat up with half-opened eyes.

"Hopefully."

Leo hesitated as he drew his next card, holding it in place. He stared down at his last remaining monster—he had to still try. "Draw!" He took the card and held it up, a larger, hologram version digitalizing on the field in front of him. "Activate Spell Card, Tool Exchange!"

"With this card I can send one monster from my deck to the Graveyard to summon a monster next turn." Leo grimaced as he took his selected monster and placed it into his Graveyard. A monster card zone on his dueldisk began to glow, as if it was enchanted.

"Foolish move. You won't live to make it to your next turn." The Collector snapped, taking off his gloves.

"I'm going to enjoy this—Balanced Fighter, direct attack!" With Leo's sudden command, the tiny robot's exhaust pipes were set ablaze. The robot's metallic hands were covered with heating mechanisms, making them become incredibly hot. He sped off, zooming around like a jet as it flew towards the Collector.

The Collector looked up just as the robot held its fist out. It crashed into his chest, and began to throw hundreds of punches in less than a few second. The Collector cried out in pain, parts of the front of his cloak now burnt off—smoke sizzled against him.

Balanced Fighter smiled and mockingly blew on its fists, turning down the heat flowing through its metal arms.

Collector's lifepoints dropped to his the remaining 100.

He weakly brushed off his cloak, patting out the smoke smell. "Y-you bastard…" He coughed and rage shone in his eye, "I'll make your death all the more agonizing for that."

"So eager to kill me, eh?" Leo set a card face-down into his dueldisk and both watched as it appeared onto the field the same way. "Then go for it."

The Collector cackled and drew his card without hesitation. The second he held the card in his hand, he declared his attack. "Shell Fiend, attack and finish this!" Shell Fiend loaded its cannons and aimed all 3 at Leo's monster. The creature tilted back and the cannons fired.

The ammunition crashed into Leo's side of the field, causing a large explosion and created a wall of smoke. He smirked and crossed his arms, confident that victory was his—that is, until the smoke began to clear away revealing Leo's monster and the card behind it activated.

"What? What did you **do**?!"

"Trap Card activate—Ironarm Guard!" The Continuous Trap Card behind Balanced Fighter was glowing. The monster itself was holding its arms crossed over its face now, the 3 cannonballs fell to its feet motionless. "This card allows my fighting machines to guard against oncoming attacks!"

The Collector gritted his teeth, but clenched his fist. "Need I remind you of Shell Fiend's effect? It'll destroy your monster regardless!" The cannonballs began to flash, as if about to explode.

Balanced Fighter gazed over at the Collector confidently and looked down at the flashing cannonballs. It held onto the upside-down oil funnel on its head and suddenly spun around swiftly, kicking all 3 cannonballs into the air—them exploding there. "Oh really?"

"You have got to be kidding me. I presume this monster of yours is immune to destruction from battle _and_ effects?" The Collector questioned, scouting his hand.

"You'd be correct." Leo smiled and his Trap Card stopped glowing, remaining on the field.

"_No matter. He thinks he's got me cornered, but I'm afraid not. I have the exact card I need to make him tremble before his death._" "I set one card face-down and summon Sacrificial Lamb (1/100/100) in defense position."

Upon his declaration, his face-down card appeared on the field simultaneously as a pure white baby lamb knelt onto the floor. Throughout the ages, its kind was used for rituals to please those above, and the Collector made sure that remained unchanged. "I end my turn."

Leo nodded and began his turn. As soon as he pulled his card off the top of the deck, a blinding light erupted from beside Balanced Fighter. Leo's monster card zone began to glow again and a card appeared on it. As the light vanished another machine of Leo's stood lopsided. Its eyes were like headlights of a car, and on its back were specialized mechanics to lift and use its hand the size of a boulder.

"Due to Tool Exchange, which I activated last turn, I Special Summon Pummel Dozer (2/800/900). Now I activate Tag Cord! Now that I control a level two monster, I can Special Summon another level 2 monster from my hand or Graveyard, so welcome back Buddy Gear (2/700/300)!" The all-familiar companion fighting robot was rebuilt from scratch once again.

"Now it's time to finish this duel! Balanced Fighter, go!" Balanced Fighter held its arms out and thrusted into the air. Its body sparkled, the intensity of the light erasing all but its outline. 3 glistening stars circled around the monster. "Synchro Summon—" Leo's other two monsters launched into the air, colliding with his Tuner monster. "Shine in the fighting ring, Diamond Arms (7/2000/2600)!"

A blinding grew from the collision of the monsters as if the night was being pushed away, darkness disappearing from the lot. A monster formed, facing Leo and slowly glancing back at his opponent. It had a strong build of machine parts improvised for a body. Its arms and hands were made of diamond, see-through to where its skeletal system of wires and gears was seen. Half its face was missing, while the other half was covered properly with diamond. The monster turned and properly stood in its place.

"I activate the first effect of Diamond Arms, which allows me to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard. So I choose to summon back Battle Conductor (3/1500/900)!" An image mirrored on the monster's diamond: a picture of Battle Conductor, of course. Appearing opposite of it was the real version. "However he won't stay for long."

Battle Conductor shrunk into a mass of glowing energy. Absorbed into the diamonds embedded all over Diamond Arms' chest, the monster's power increased. (Diamond Arms – 2750)

Its arms glistened with power surging through them. "Now for my favorite part; my monster can attack you directly on this turn! Diamond Arms, attack him directly—Crystal Crash!"

Diamond Arms turned around and wiggled its fingers around, as if eager to crush. It charged forward, holding one arm out forward like a football player. Collector grunted and activated his face-down card. "Trap Card, Almighty Intervention!" Suddenly all of the Collector's monsters shrieked in pain as they disappeared; sacrificed to a greater power.

Collector braced for impact as Diamond Arms collided into him. The monster continued to push the Collector back until he smashed into a pillar behind him. His eye widened with the impact. Diamond Arms pulled its arm back and walked away. He dropped to the floor, gasping for air. The impact from the attack was so hard that it left cracks in the pillar. But the then-victorious attack was unsuccessful. The value meter appeared showing the Collector's lifepoints reduce from 2800 to 50.

"How did that attack not finish off your lifepoints?!" Leo exclaimed in surprise.

The Collector slowly stumbled up, holding onto his chest, a little blood dripping from beneath his mask. "I will **kill** you…" The man stumbled forward, nearly falling as he walked back to his dueldisk. He wiped the blood lightly off his chin with a glance to its color. He took a card from his deck out and held it up, the blood smearing slightly onto the back.

"My Trap Card…allows me to send any number of monsters from my hand or field to the Graveyard to regain 900 lifepoints per monster… so I sent all three of mine to survive your attack."

Leo wiped the sweat from his brow, panic kicking in. "_Damnit. This isn't good…_"

"But that's not all… that was just the first effect of my card, the real power now lies in my hand, it lets me add my ultimate card to my hand!" The lot began to quake menacingly. Something wasn't right. The air around Leo grew heavy a demented aura surrounding them. "I end my turn."

The Collector drew his card, ignoring it. He had something better than _that_. "You want to feel pain, Leo?! Then I'll grant your wish! Darkness enchant this lot, activate Realm of the Almighty!" Smokey pillars surrounded them as well as a familiar darkness behind, deepening with the soft glow of the snaking seal underneath them. Leo was lucky enough to be away from the end of the barrier, but the sight of disgruntled spirits was unnerving. It didn't help the feeling of dread that his false victory had given him. The Collector grinned maniacally, his home turf finally back.****

"Doma, Angel of Absolute Dar—" Just as Collector was about to summon his monster, the sharp click of footsteps interrupted them.

"Freeze! Don't move!" The almost victorious duelist scowled. There were four of them, armed and pointing their weapons at the two. He could see it from the foggy transparency within the field spell. Leo watched the men outside, heart beating fast. They caught him. Finally, this would all end.

"This isn't over!" The field disappeared and The Collector ran to his D-Wheel, dodging shots fire at him.

"Stop!" Shouted the officers,

Revving up his tiny engine, he shot past them, but not before a bullet buried itself in his calf. The man let out a hiss of pain and gritted his teeth, pushing harder on the gas pedal.

"Gragh!" Leo barreled past them without warning, the men diving out of the way as he chased the rogue duelist.

They slowly got up from their spots on the floor, the leader grabbing a radio on his belt. "We lost them, sir." He surveyed the scene, smirking slightly, "However, one of them is the culprit. The carving is here. We're at the abandoned lot; they just took off."

On the other side of the radio, a man gripped the handle on his bike with fury. "Fine. I'll get the units on their tails. Leave the site for the analysis crew."

"Understood."

The Collector raced down the side street, shaking with pain and rage as he clung to the bike. He could have gotten him, and then _they_ had to come up. His jig wasn't going to be up when he just started. Oh no it wouldn't.

Leo wasn't far behind, trailing the tiny motorbike. This was _his_ territory, and he wasn't going to let some yahoo get away with messing with it. The sound of sirens slowly caught up, and soon they were too close for comfort. Deciding to risk it, the young man yanked hard on his steering bars and squealed past them onto another shortcut. Winding through alleys like a maze, the horde of police disappeared, and he sighed, turning into a well known side road. _"Got 'im!"_

The Collector looked behind him, and saw Leo, glaring at him. Just another minute, and he'd be out of here. Leo pushed his bike to its maximum speed; he couldn't let the bastard get away. His bike was now pushing over 110 MPH, almost there. The wind smashed against his face like needles, but he wouldn't turn away nor slow down.

The smell of burnt rubber assaulted the Collector's senses as Leo pushed against his D-Wheel. Fighting to keep course, the man nearly careened out of control and swerved to the side, losing speed. Finally they were side-by-side.

"_He just won't give up, goddamnit!_"

Blaring sirens resurfaced, surrounding the two. "Stop running you coward!" Leo grasped onto the man's cloak. In a daring maneuver, he completely let go of the wheel and reached over to pull the Collector clear off his bike.

At the last second, a cop swerved from the corner at the end of the road. He stopped and stared down at the oncoming suspects. He held his walkie-talkie up, "Activate the EMP Engine Disruptors now!"

Leo could not risk it anymore, pulling back. The Collector collapsed back onto his bike, the motion dislodging his mask which fell to the ground. With a snarl, the man covered his face and sped past the cop before disruptors zapped to life.

Leo smashed his brakes, stopping before he collided into the officer. "What are you doing?! You're letting him get away!"

"Don't worry about him. The squad is already on his tail. Unfortunately, you got problems of your own."

The officer silently stared at him and lightly clicked the button on his walkie-talkie, "We got confirmation on the other suspect. He's been avoiding us for _way_ too long…"

"Well, what's the suspect's name, Clyde?" The man on the other end questioned. "I repeat, I need a name."

Clyde turned the contraption off and slid it back into place, "Haven't you, **Leo Wolfe**?"

**Next Chapter:  
Breaking the Spirit**

Card of the Chapter

Diamond Arms  
Light  
7  
[Machine/Synchro/Effect]  
"Balanced Fighter" + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters  
When this card is successfully Synchro Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 level 4 or less Machine-Type monster from your hand or Graveyard. During the turn this card is Special Summoned only, this card can attack your opponent's lifepoints directly. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Release 1 monster you control to increase this card's ATK by an amount equal to half the ATK of the Released monster.

ATK/2000 DEF/2600


End file.
